


A Christmas, Of Sorts

by littlelamplight



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, fam times, includes majorly judging you and a lil vanluthor, lots of fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-18 08:45:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13096548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelamplight/pseuds/littlelamplight
Summary: There is something rather amusing to Alex that Astra can face down dangerous aliens and plan battles without so much as blinking, but when it comes to organising a simple ‘Christmas’ party, she’s a wreck.Astra decides to host a celebration for the whole family.





	A Christmas, Of Sorts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anonymississippi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymississippi/gifts).



Alex comes home after work the day before their family celebration to find Astra standing in the middle of the living room, her eyes fixed on the roof, so still it makes her stop in her tracks. ‘Umm… babe? You okay?’

 

Astra nods slowly, still staring up at the ceiling, and says, ‘I am. But I know I have forgotten something, and I cannot remember what it is’. 

 

Alex smiles fondly, shaking her head and shutting the door behind her. ‘Astra, you’ve been preparing this since the beginning of December, okay? You need to stop stressing. 

 

The truth is, Alex has never seen Astra as stressed as she’s been since she first decided she wanted to host the equivalent of a Christmas celebration, without all the Christmas elements, for their entire, now rather large family. She’s been obsessing over trying to make it perfect for everyone, and despite how stressed she is, there is something rather amusing to Alex that the woman can face down dangerous aliens and plan battles without so much as blinking, but when it comes to organising a simple ‘Christmas’ party, she’s a wreck. 

 

Astra’s brow pinches, and her shoulders sag a little. ‘I know… I just…’ 

 

‘You want it to be perfect. I know’. Alex dumps her bag on the ground, shrugs off her leather jacket, and crosses the room to cup Astra’s face gently in her hands. She leans in to kiss her gently, and says softly, ‘it will be, you know’. 

 

‘You have such faith in me’. Astra seems to relax, leaning into her almost at once, and she murmurs, ‘I just… there was a lot to do’. 

 

Alex runs her hand through Astra’s hair, and kisses her cheek. ‘Well, lets think. You decorated the DEO with Christmas lights and mistletoe’. She sniggers. ‘You missed the chaos of that today, by the way’. 

 

Astra seems to perk up. ‘Oh?’

 

‘You’re really surprised? You hung mistletoe pretty much under every doorway’. She shakes her head. ‘I’m pretty sure Alura doesn’t understand what mistletoe is, though. She freaked out whenever she realised she was standing underneath one’. 

 

Astra smirks. ‘Kara may have told her that mistletoe indicates you wish to fight someone’. 

 

She stares. ‘What?’

 

‘I believe it was her attempt to ensure that she didn’t see Alura and Lucy kissing while at work’. 

Alex shakes her head, leaning in to kiss Astra again, and says, ‘well, if you wanted chaos, you did a pretty good job’. She gives her waist a gentle squeeze. ‘So, logically, ‘everything else will be great’. 

 

‘That makes very little sense, Alex’. Still, Astra leans in to kiss her, relaxing in her arms. ‘But you have effectively cheered me up’. 

 

‘You need to relax, babe’. Alex lets her hands run down Astra’s back, working her fingers against her muscles, to settle on her ass. ‘How long do we have before people start arriving?’

 

‘About half an hour’. Astra leans into her, and groans softly. ‘Remind me why I wanted everyone to sleep over tonight?’

 

‘Because, and I quote, ‘it’s a day for family, and they should be here for the whole day”.

 

Astra makes a faintly disgusted sound. ‘And here I like to think I’m an intelligent person’. 

 

‘Honestly, it’s sweet. More than sweet. Your whole idea…’ Alex hesitates, unsure how to word what she wants to say. ‘It’s a really… really wonderful idea, to celebrate with all of us’. 

 

It doesn’t come out as eloquently as she wants, but Astra’s expression softens, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and she leans in to kiss her. ‘Family has always been precious to me’, she says, their lips brushing together as she speaks, ‘and this family has become quite large’. 

 

‘It’s kinda weird, isn’t it?’

 

‘In a wonderful way, yes’. Astra sighs again, her lips curving in that smile that has become so easy for her, that is so much more frequent than it used to be, and when she leans in to kiss her again, she’s still smiling. ‘I love you, Alex’. 

 

And as always, these days, Alex finds it impossible not to smile as she kisses her back. ‘I love you too’.

 

* * *

 

Alex wakes on Christmas morning to find the bed empty beside her, a steaming mug of coffee, done just the way she likes, on the bedside table beside her, and the smell of Astra’s cooking filling the small apartment. She sighs, stretching and turning her face against the pillow, her mouth curling in a loopy grin as she reaches for her coffee, propping herself up on her elbow to sip it carefully. 

 

It’s hot, but not so hot that it burns. Perfect, just like everything Astra makes. 

 

She should tell her that she really doesn’t have anything to worry about. 

 

Alex yawns, pushing the covers back and slipping on her pants, padding from the bedroom with her coffee cradled close to her chest. The living room is still shrouded in darkness in order not to disturb her sleeping family, still sprawled out in a pile of tangled limbs and blankets over the floor, and aside from the three figures in the kitchen, they don’t seem to have stirred. 

 

‘Alex’, J’onn looks ridiculously mundane in his knitted cardigan and flowery apron, the spare that Alura usually wears whenever she comes over to cook with Astra, ‘please still your sister from eating all the food’. 

 

Kara pokes her head out from behind the fridge, hunched over a large bowl, and sticks her tongue out at her. Alex rolls her eyes. ‘Yes, Dad’. 

 

The corners of J’onn’s eyes crinkle as he smiles, turning his attention back to whatever fabulous meal he’s helping Astra make, and Kara returns the bowl to the fridge so that she can give him a bear hug. Alex grins, moving around them towards the toaster, and pauses when she sees Astra squatting on the floor in front of the oven. 

 

‘Astra’, Alex squats down beside her, leaning her elbow on her shoulder to give her a slight nudge, ‘you don’t have to watch it, you know’. 

 

Astra doesn’t take her eyes off the turkey in the oven, perfectly balanced on her toes, her forearms resting on her knees, fingers loosely interlocked, so still she might as well be a statue carved by some divine sculpture. Alex gives her another nudge, and Astra says, ‘your kitchen appliances are very primitive, Alex. I want this to be cooked perfectly’. 

 

Alex taps the timer on the oven, and says, ‘you’ve got a while until it could even come close to burning. And staring at it won’t make it cook any faster’. 

 

Astra grumbles. ‘Your logic is flawed, Alex. Your oven could blow up’. 

 

‘That only happened because Lara didn’t understand how to use it’. Alex leans in to kiss Astra’s cheek, rubbing her fingers in small circles at the base of her neck. ‘Babe, relax. You’re a fantastic cook. It’ll be great’. 

 

Astra grumbles again. ‘What if its not?’

 

‘Well considering that pretty much everything you cook is perfect, that’s very unlikely. But if it isn’t, we’re all together, and that’s all that matters’. Alex leans in to kiss Astra’s cheek, and says, ‘come on’. She tugs Astra away from the oven by the front of her apron, stepping in to unravel the tie at the back. ‘You’ve been working really hard. Let J’onn finish up the last bits, and come have a nap’. 

 

Astra lets her tug the apron over her head, her jaw jutting in a slight pout, and murmurs, ‘but I -’. 

 

‘You know one common thing about the different traditional surrounding Christmas is that its supposed to be about enjoying yourself, Aunt Astra’. Kara props her chin in her hands, smiling softly in a way that makes her look a lot like her mother. ‘Go rest. There’s not much else for us to do, anyway’.

 

Perhaps its because Kara asked, and Astra has never been very good at saying no to her niece, but the woman sighs heavily, leans in to kiss Alex quickly, before wandering off to bed again. It takes a lot of effort to resist the urge to join her, but she does, turning to face J'onn and Kara instead. 

 

'So, how can I help?'

 

* * *

 

After making sure that everyone has enough breakfast and coffee, and watching J’onn give out his hand knitted sweaters, Alex checks in on Astra. She’s not exactly surprised to find that her girlfriend isn’t sleeping, but instead sitting up in bed with a pile of newspaper on one side, and unwrapped presents on the other. 

 

Astra glances up from her pile of half wrapped presents with a smile and beckons to her. Alex smiles back, shutting the door behind her, and climbs onto the bed beside her. ‘Forgot to wrap your presents?’

 

Astra sighs, running a hand through her hair, and murmurs, ‘I was so busy trying to organise everything that I forgot the basic necessities’. 

 

Alex settles beside her, leaning against her shoulder, and hands out the package in her hand. ‘Here, from J’onn’. 

 

Astra blinks, taking it from her and ripping the paper open quickly, the same kind of enthusiasm that Kara shows when she’s given presents, and holds up her hand knitted sweater, her eyes wide. She lays it down over her knees, running her fingers over the soft wool, tracing the outline of the A, and says, ‘it’s lovely’. 

 

She sounds oddly emotional, and Alex rubs her back automatically, grasping her own jumper by the hem and stretching it out so that she can see the identical letter. ‘We’ve all got one’. 

 

Astra glances at her, the corner of her mouth curved in a smile, and says, ‘black does suit you’. 

 

Alex leans in to kiss her cheek, and Astra hums softly, turning her head to kiss her properly. Alex smiles, lifting her hand to comb her fingers gently through Astra’s hair, and murmurs, ‘I think all our names gave J’onn a bit of trouble. He went with colour coordination. Green for you, blue for Alura’. 

 

Astra pulls away to tug the jumper down over her head, smoothing it out over her stomach, and says softly, ‘he chose well, I think’. 

 

Alex leans her head against Astra’s shoulder, sneaking a quick, thorough glance over the presents scattered over the bed, wondering whether she can get a hint of what Astra might be giving her. She should’ve realised that Astra would be infuriatingly good at keeping things like presents secret, and so far she doesn’t have any idea what the woman might have got her. ‘What did you get J’onn?’

 

Astra pushes the few wrapped presents aside, lifts the unused wrapping paper, and pulls out a small cardboard box. She taps her fingers almost anxiously against the sides, and murmurs, ‘I’m not sure if… if I was a little presumptuous with this. I… there was a time when we talked about what we’d lost. He described his children to me, and I… I drew them. I’m not sure if… if he’ll appreciate it, but Kara always says that it’s the thought that counts’. 

 

Alex stares at her for a long moment, until Astra glances away, heat colouring her cheeks. She looks suddenly crestfallen. ‘I thought it was a good idea’. 

 

Alex reaches out to take her face in her hands, smoothing her thumbs over the woman’s high, gorgeous cheekbones, and leans in to kiss her. Astra makes a muffled sound of surprise, but kisses her back almost at once, and Alex finds herself almost forgetting why she kissed her in the first place. Then she pulls back, nudging her nose against the woman’s cheek, and murmurs, ‘you know, I think you might be one of the best people I know’. 

 

Astra huffs a laugh, nuzzling affectionately at her cheek, and kisses the corner of her mouth before she returns to wrapping her presents. ‘Now you’re just humouring me’. 

 

‘I’m not’. Alex reaches out to take her hand again, smoothing her thumb over her knuckles, familiar with the way Astra is avoiding her eyes. ‘I mean it’. 

 

‘Alex -’ 

 

‘Yes, I know. You’ve done some bad things, and you’ve made some mistakes. But you know, even when you were intent on using Myriad, no one could exactly call you selfish’. She gives Astra’s hand a squeeze, and leans in to kiss her cheek. ‘And that was then. You’re a good person, Astra. One of the best’. She smiles, nudging Astra’s shoulder with her own. ‘And I know quite a few’. 

 

‘You’re just saying that because you love me, and your love has made you blind to my flaws’. 

 

‘You really can’t quote  _ Brooklyn Nine-Nine _ every time I start talking about how you’re a good person, you know’. 

 

Astra sighs, leaning against her temple, and murmurs, ‘I don’t suppose there’s any point arguing with you?’

 

‘Nope’. She kisses the corner of Astra’s mouth, aware of the way it ticks up in a faint smile, feeling like that, at least, is a small sign that she’s helped, and nudges at her again. ‘Come on, don’t make me bring Alura in here. She’s already really emotional because of presents’. 

 

Astra huffs a laugh, reaching down to intertwine their fingers, and murmurs, ‘has she cried yet?’

 

‘Not yet, but it was pretty close when J’onn gave her her jumper’. She grins, glancing down at Astra’s pile of half wrapped presents again. ‘Lucy and Lara have a bet going about whether Alura or Lillian will cry first’. 

 

Astra’s lips curve in a conspiratorial smile. ‘Perhaps I should cry first. Just to frustrate them’. 

 

Alex grins, and says, ‘well, if you do, I’ll act shocked’. 

 

‘Always so supportive’. 

 

* * *

 

Alex sits slumped on the couch, so full she can barely move, and glances up as Kara flops down beside her with a groan, clutching her stomach dramatically. ‘I ate so much, Alex’. 

 

Alex rolls her eyes, leaning her head against her sister’s shoulder, and grumbles, ‘isn’t your super metabolism supposed to prevent you from feeling that?’

 

Kara tips her head back against the couch and groans again. ‘Yeah, usually. But I’m convinced Astra used some alien ingredients. It tasted just… just like home’. 

 

Alex huffs a laugh, turning gingerly onto her side, and presses a kiss to Kara’s shoulder. ‘That might explain why she was so stressed out about the possibility of getting the meal wrong’. 

 

‘She was?’

 

‘You really didn’t notice?’ Alex rubs absently at her shoulder, closing her eyes, aware that she’s in danger of drifting off, warm and full and among the people she loves. ‘She wanted to organise something for the whole family, but she knows you and I don’t celebrate christmas. So she wanted to make it more of… a gathering. With presents’. 

 

‘And so much food’. Kara sighs happily, before getting up, a spring in her step that speaks of how she’s definitely not affected by how much she’s eaten. ‘I’m going to get some more’. 

 

Alex rolls her eyes, shifting into a more comfortable position, drawing her legs up closer to her body, just in time to avoid Lucy throwing herself down onto the couch, and crowing, ‘presents!’

 

Alex winces. ‘How are you so energetic right now?’

 

‘She’s always been like that when it comes to presents’. Lois perches on the arm of the other couch next to Clark, ignoring her sister when Lucy flips her off. ‘It’s cute’. 

 

‘Shut up, Lois’. 

 

‘Presents does sound like a good idea’, Lillian settles onto the couch, absently smoothing out her pale purple sweater, ‘it’ll give us all time to recover from that wonderful food’. 

 

Lara plops down unceremoniously into Lillian’s lap, leaning back against her shoulder, and says, ‘are the bets in?’ 

 

‘Bets?’ Lena sits down on the floor next to Carter, and Alex chuckles to herself as all the  _ L’s _ line up. ‘What bets?’

 

‘Lucy and I have a little bet going’, Lara says, rolling up the sleeves of her oversized, dark crimson jumper, ‘about who will cry first. I say Lillian, she says Alura’. 

 

‘You really want to bet against me when Alura cries pretty much whenever someone says they’re proud of her?’

 

Alura’s face is almost as red as Lara’s jumper when she sits down beside Lucy, and she mumbles, ‘weren’t we giving presents, rather than embarrassing me?’ 

 

‘I’ll go first, then’, Astra says, apparently having taken pity on her sister, bending to carefully rummage around among the impressive pile of presents under the rose bush, ‘we do have a lot to get through’. 

 

‘The woes of having such a large family’, J’onn deadpans, and it never fails to make Alex smile, to hear how easily he refers to them as such, now, ‘too many presents’. 

 

‘No such thing!’ Kara declares, looking truly affronted. ‘You can never have too many presents’.

 

‘Speaking of which’, Astra rises from the pile with a long, thin box wrapped in newspaper, and moves to perch on the couch arm beside Alex. ‘Here’. Alex blinks, thrown by the sudden realisation she’s finally going to know what Astra’s been keeping so quiet from her, and leans against the woman while she rips off the newspaper. She peels it back to reveal the box beneath, and Astra adds, ‘be careful. It’s not a toy’. 

 

Alex lays the box over her knees, and lifts off the top. She gapes. ‘Holy shit’. 

 

‘What?’ Kara tries to crane her neck over Alura’s shoulder, almost shoving her hand in Lucy’s face to do so. ‘What is it?’

 

Astra reaches down, and lifts the sword from it’s velvet bed. She curls her fingers around the hilt, and draws it slowly from its scabbard, and Alex really hopes that everyone is too occupied to notice the way her stomach swoops pleasantly. The blade gleams almost silver, and Astra slides it back in with a faint  _ snk _ sound, extending it for Alex to take. ‘You got her a sword?’ Lara says, her eyebrows raised in a faintly exasperated expression. ‘Where did you even get one here?’

 

Astra smirks slightly. ‘I have my ways’. She looks down at Alex, watching her run her fingers over the engraved hilt, and says, ‘for starters, aside from the fact that we were on opposite sides at the time, you did look quite fetching with a sword’. 

 

‘I’m… flattered?’

 

‘But, barring the fact that you killed me, your skills were… subpar, at best’. Her smile grows. ‘If I hadn’t inexplicably lost my anti-kryptonite attachment, things would’ve gone very differently’. 

 

It says a lot about them, and how far they’ve come, that they can joke about this, now, that Alex only feels affection and amusement curling around her ribs, rather than the old stab of guilt that used to haunt her. ‘Hey, it was a crazy night’. 

 

‘Indeed. J’onn forgot that he could shape shift’. 

 

‘I’m old’, J’onn says, his eyes twinkling with amusement, ‘I have my moments’. 

 

Astra grins. ‘So, I thought I’d teach you. You never know when you might need to use it’. 

 

Alex thinks about how her stomach swooped watching Astra simply touch the sword, and swallows. ‘That sounds great’. 

 

‘You two are ridiculous’, Alura says, a slightly choked edge to her voice, ‘absolutely ridiculous’. 

 

Astra’s eyes gleam. ‘Is that tears I hear threatening, sister?’

 

Alura scowls, rising from the couch with a faint wobble to her chin. ‘I’ll give the next present’. She vanishes, only to return a moment later with a small, cardboard box with holes poked in the top, and hands it to Kara quickly before sitting down again. She twists her fingers together anxiously, watching Kara peer in through the holes and Lucy squeezes her shoulders reassuringly. ‘I’m afraid I wasn’t sure what to get you’, she murmurs, and Astra reaches over to pat her knee. ‘But I… I hope you like it’. 

 

Kara opens the small cardboard box, and a tiny squeaky sounds from inside it. Kara’s face lights up, her eyes shining, and she reaches into the box to pull out a tiny, marmalade kitten. ‘Oh, Rao’, she whispers, lifting it in her cupped hands, watching it nudge its nose against her thumb, ‘it’s so small’. 

 

The tiny kitten curls up in the palm of her hand, its paw reaching out in a trembling stretch, and Alura says, ‘she reminded me of Krypton’. 

 

Astra smiles softly, and Alex wonders if she’s noticed that her sister doesn’t refer to their old planet as home, anymore. She might be reading too much into it, but she likes the idea that Alura thinks of this place, and these people, as her home, now. 

 

Kara leans down to nuzzle against the tiny kitten’s dark orange fur, and mumbles, ‘I love her’. She glances up at Alura, her eyes watering, and says, ‘thanks so much, Mum’. 

 

Astra huffs a laugh, and shakes her head, watching with amusement as Lara and Clark get up to peer closely at the tiny kitten over Kara’s shoulder. ‘Now, sister, that’s hardly fair. How are any of us supposed to match up to that?’

 

Alura beams, leaning back against Lucy’s shoulder with a soft sigh, and murmurs, ‘I’m sure your present will be very successful, Astra’. 

 

Kara leans back against the couch, cradling the tiny ball of fluff against her chest, and whispers, ‘I’m going to call her Streaky’. 

 

Lucy guffaws. ‘What kind of name is that?’

 

‘It’s a perfectly good name, Luce!’ 

 

‘Someone give out another gift before they really start’, Cat groans, taking another swig of eggnog and flopping dramatically onto the other couch, swamped the knitted jumper that J’onn accidentally made large enough to fit Clark just as easily. Though, considering how J’onn’s eyes crinkle in amusement whenever he looks at her, Alex isn’t exactly sure if it was a mistake. 

 

Alura sits up, vanishes in a blur, and returns carrying another cardboard box carefully in her hands. She sits down beside Lucy again, and extends the box to Astra. ‘We might as well, while we’re on the subject’. 

 

Astra stares at it. She handles it like a package rigged to explode, placing it on the floor in front of her, and Alex sits up to shuffle closer. She can hear a faint whining coming from inside, and there are another series of air holes poked in the top. A grin tugs at her lips, and she nudges Astra. ‘Go on. Open it’. 

 

Alura glances at her quickly, her eyes sincere, and says, ‘it’s for you, too, Alex’.

 

Alex opens her mouth to reply, but then Astra flips open the cardboard box, reaches inside, and pulls out a corgi. Short legs, stubby tail, small enough to make Kara squeal again, and Astra holds it away from her body with rigid arms, staring at it like she’s still not sure if it’s going to explode. Alura watches her anxiously as her sister slowly draws the puppy close to her face, peering into its eyes, and says softly, ‘it is so… fragile’. 

 

‘It’s a puppy, Astra’, Lara sounds more than a little exasperated, her expression fond even as she rolls her eyes at her old friend, ‘they’re supposed to be fragile’. 

 

Astra leans closer, and the puppy huffs, and licks playfully at her nose, it’s tiny tail wagging frantically. Astra blinks, and all at once her expression melts. She laughs as the puppy yips, and declares, ‘what a delightful animal’. 

 

Alex reaches out to rub the backs of her knuckles over the tiny puppy’s back, and says, ‘what should we call him?’

 

Astra gives her a long look, her lips pulling in that smile that always makes her stomach do flips, and says, ‘Cheddar’. 

 

Alex reaches out, and Astra places the tiny dog in her hands. His fur is ridiculously soft, and Alex shakes her head fondly. ‘He’s perfect’. 

 

Astra leans over to kiss Alura’s cheek, and says, ‘well, that was a very successful gift, sister’. 

 

‘Thank you’. 

 

Astra smiles affectionately, and says, ‘and while we’re at it, I might as well tell you what my gift to you is’. Alura swallows, straightening her shoulders, like she’s determined not to cry when Astra has finished, and Astra says, ‘when you return home with Lucy, you will find a piano keyboard set up in your office’. Some of the levity leaks from her voice, and she says softly, ‘I remembered that you… that you wanted to be a musician, when we were children. Alex… she helped me choose an instrument that she thought might suit you best’. Astra runs her hand up and down Alura’s back softly, leaning in to kiss her sister’s cheek. ‘They’re very different to instruments back on Krypton, but you’ve always been talented. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it’. 

 

‘Thank you’, Alura mumbles, her lower lip trembling, her eyes shining, and Alex thinks it’s a miracle that she hasn’t dissolved into tears yet. The woman turns to hug Astra tightly, pressing her face against her shoulder, her next words muffled, and Astra rubs at her back soothingly, whispering words of their old language into her hair. 

 

‘I used to play the piano’, Lena pipes up from her cocoon of blankets beside the couch, ‘I could show you the basics’. 

 

‘And if you wanted, I could help you find a professional teacher’. Cat is stroking Carter’s hair absently, oblivious to his minor grumbling. ‘There are a few good ones I can think of’. 

 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Alura bursts into tears. She turns to bury her face in Lucy’s shoulder, and Lucy grins, wrapping an arm around her back and stroking her hair soothingly. ‘Come on’, she says, pressing her lips to Alura’s hairline, ‘someone else give a present’. 

 

‘Alright’, Alex slides from the couch to grab her present for Astra from under the rosebush, ‘I’ll give one’. She turns around, takes the few steps towards Astra, and drops it into her lap quickly, an edge of nerves fluttering in her stomach. ‘Here. I hope you like it’. 

 

Cheddar stumbles up to bump against the small box, and when Astra rips the wrapping paper off, the puppy yips happily, and flops onto his back to roll around on the wrapping paper. Astra rubs at his belly absently as she pries the lid of the box, but then her attention focuses as she lifts the spherical object from the box, holding it in the palm of her hand, and murmurs, ‘what… what is this?’

 

There is an odd note to her voice, something that makes Alex think that she suspects what it is, simply from the familiar feel of the object, but that she also knows, or thinks, that she must be wrong. Kara looks up from scratching Streaky under the chin, and says, ‘go on, Aunt Astra. Twist the top’. 

 

Astra seems to hesitate. Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, and she lifts her hand to lay it over the top. Her fingers flex, the metal shifts, and light beams up towards the roof. Alex is aware of soft gasps from the people in their family who hadn’t already seen it, but she only has eyes for Astra, for the way her expression shifts from astonishment to awe as she looks up at the projection of stars shining onto the ceiling, and breathes, ‘Alex… how did you do this?’

 

‘Kara used to tell me about how you taught her about the stars. That you had to use something like this, because of the air pollution above Argo City’. Alex can feel heat in her cheeks, and she’s not sure if its because of the way Astra is looking at her, like she can’t quite believe she’s real, or because Alura has started to cry harder. ‘Alura and Kara helped me with the constellations, and Lara helped with the mechanics’. She hesitates, knowing that it’s stupid to get so insecure all of a sudden, but unable to help herself from saying, ‘I know it’s basically a kid’s toy, but I -’ 

 

Astra lunges, knocking her off her feet and back onto the couch with her arms locked tightly around her waist and her face hidden in her shoulder, hugging her so tightly it’s almost hard to breathe, and her voice sounds shaky when her lips brush over her ear. ‘Thank you, Alex’. 

 

Alex wraps her arms around Astra’s neck, ignoring the laughs and guffaws from around them, and hugs her back just as tightly. ‘You’re welcome’. 

 

* * *

 

Later, when the space under the rose bush is empty, and most of the food has been cleared away, leftovers stacked neatly in the fridge, Alex lies on the couch, struggling to keep her eyes open, watching her family through half lidded eyes. 

 

Kara and Clark have secluded themselves in a corner, attempting to introduce Cheddar and Streaky to each other. The tiny animals seem more perplexed by each other than anything, bumbling around on the floor and bumping noses whenever they move close. Alura and Lucy are lying on the couch in a tangle of limbs, watching  _ The Nightmare Before Christmas _ , though Lucy seems to be dozing, tracing the  _ A _ embossed in Alura’s sweater absently while Alura strokes her hair and hums along to the songs. 

 

Aside from the television and the warm light from the kitchen, the only other light comes from the small, holographic device Alex gave Astra. Lara is lying on her back among the cushions with Lillian and Lena on either side of her, the sphere resting on her chest as she points out the stars that shine onto the ceiling in gold beams of light, and J’onn sits beside them, gazing down at the portraits of his children in the soft light with a small smile flickering about his mouth. 

 

There is a snigger from opposite her, and when Alex glances across from her, she guffaws. Cat is dozing against the couch, her head resting on her arm, and Lois is meticulously balancing the intricate, model aliens Astra made Carter everywhere she can manage. Carter is handing Lois the pieces, watching with a wide grin as Lois leans over and balances one on Cat’s collar bone, muffling a snort with his hands with Cat shifts in her sleep, mumbling something about M&Ms, threatening to overbalance the figurines on her head. 

 

‘Alex’.

 

Alex glances up quickly, a smile curving her lips at the sight of Astra standing beside her, having returned from helping Eliza wash the dishes, and murmurs, ‘hey’.

 

Astra leans down to kiss her forehead, her hair swinging forward to tickle her cheek, rich with the aroma of pine needles, and says softly, ‘follow me?’

 

Alex stands, reaching out automatically to tangle her fingers with Astra’s, and lets herself be led from the room. It's still such a marvel to her, sometimes, at how natural such things are to her now, how easily her fingers fit with Astra’s, how comforting it is to feel the woman stroke her thumb over the back of her hand. It's become a part of her life, just as all these people have become part of her family, and Alex wouldn't give it up for anything.

 

Astra leads her into the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her, and Alex turns to cup the woman’s face in her hands and kiss her. Astra sighs, that soft sound Alex has come to recognise as a sound of content, and leans back against the door, looping her arms around her to keep her close. Alex runs her thumb along the line of her jaw, and pulls away to rest their foreheads together. Astra runs her fingers gently through her hair, and murmurs, ‘how do you think it went?’

 

Alex chuckles. ‘You’re kidding, right? It was a total success’. She kisses the corner of Astra’s mouth, her cheek, and the tip of her nose, before capturing her bottom lip in a slow kiss. ‘I mean it’. 

 

Astra smiles, and lifts her hand to cradle the back of her head, kissing her in that way that has her toes curling, and murmurs, ‘thank you for being so patient with me, Alex’. 

 

‘No problem’, she says, absently running her hands up Astra’s sides, feeling the muscle beneath her soft jumper, ‘it wasn’t any trouble’. 

 

Astra hums against her lips, kissing her slow and deep, and Alex groans against her mouth. Astra pulls away suddenly, her eyes glinting with mirth, and says, ‘you are very distracting’. 

 

‘Hey, you starting kissing me’. 

 

‘Indeed’. Astra takes a deep breath, before she moves to sit on the bed. She takes a deep breath, and says, ‘the sword I gave you, and my desire to teach you… it was not… my original idea’. She looks nervous, her fingers plucking absently at the edge of her sweater, the muscles in her jaw working. ‘But I’m not sure if… if what I originally had in mind counts as a gift’. 

 

Alex grins, in an attempt to make her more at ease, and says, ‘is this the part where you go dress up as a sexy Mrs. Claus? Or are we talking more undergarments?’

 

Astra blinks, but the tension has left her shoulders, and she chuckles. ‘Is that something you’d be into?’

 

‘Well, not the Mrs. Claus part. But I’ve definitely thought about you in lingerie before’. Alex sits down beside her, crossing her legs underneath her and leaning their shoulders together, because she knows that touch soothes the woman. ‘Come on, what was it? I won’t laugh’. 

 

Astra takes a deep breath, and reaches for one of her hands. ‘Alex… I know that you have… some fears about being abandoned’. Alex’s throat tightens, and when she reaches out to grip Astra’s hand, it’s more for herself than anything. Astra swipes her thumb gently back and forth over her knuckles, and leans in to kiss her cheek. ‘I do not wish to cause you distress, love. I simply… we have been together for some time now, and I want you to know that I… I have never been happier than I am now’. 

 

Alex lets out a slow breath, and leans in to kiss Astra’s cheek, squeezing her hand. ‘Same here’.

 

Astra’s smile is brilliant and beautiful, her nose crinkling as her lips curve, and she seems to relax a little. ‘So I wanted… I want to promise you that I have no desire to leave you. And I won't. For as long as you’ll have me, I will remain by your side’.

 

‘Astra…’ her throat feels strangely tight, and she bites her lip. She leans in to kiss her, and Astra kisses her back eagerly, cupping her cheek and shifting closer on the bed. Alex pulls away, and murmurs, ‘thank you, but… you know you don't have to tell me that’.

 

‘I know’. Astra pulls away, and retrieves a small, thin silver box from her pocket. ‘Words can only do so much, in the end’.

 

Alex stares at the small box, her heart lodged somewhere in her throat, her pulse pounding at the hinge of her jaw, and grips Astra’s hand tightly. Astra leans in to kiss her cheek, and pops the lid off the box with her nail, revealing two small, silver rings on two separate chains. ‘I made these. They're… symbolic, but they also have a slightly more useful purpose’. She rests the box on her knee, keeping her grip secure on Alex’s hand, like she knows that Alex needs it, and retrieves one of them. ‘There are two bands with a little technology I adapted from Krypton. If you twist this to the left, it will cause the other ring to glow’.

 

‘Like your spy beacons?’ Alex is surprised by the sound of her own voice, by how steady it sounds with her heart going a thousand miles an hour. 

 

Astra smiles. ‘Yes. That is where I got the idea’.

 

Alex clears her throat. ‘And be other way?’

 

‘A tracking beacon. Only the person wearing the ring can activate it’. The corner of her mouth ticks up in a fond slightly exasperated smile. ‘We’ve both been kidnapped enough times, don’t you think?’

 

Alex stares at her for a long time, unable to speak for the emotion clogging her throat, and in her silence, Astra looks away, her cheeks glowing, and she looks slightly crestfallen. ‘You don’t have to wear it’, she murmurs, ‘I just - mph!’

 

Alex kisses her so forcefully that their noses knock together, shoving her back onto the bed and climbing on top of her to keep kissing her, her hands tangled in her thick hair, a messy thing that Astra responds to almost at once. Alex kisses her with her heart pounding in her throat, with Astra clutching at her back, until she’s sure that Astra won’t suggest such a stupid thing again. Then she breaks away, breathing heavily through her nose, and says, ‘you silly alien, of course I want to wear it’. 

 

Astra laughs happily, leaning up to kiss her again, her hands running up and down her back. ‘You simply seemed hesitant’. 

 

‘I… I wasn’t. It’s just…’ Alex bites her lip, stroking her fingers absently over Astra’s scalp, watching the way the woman closes her eyes at the pleasant sensation, her heart still thundering against her ribs. ‘Promises to always be here? Rings? Kinda sounds a bit like a proposal’. 

 

Astra’s eyes go very wide, and heat rushes up to colour her cheeks crimson. ‘It was not… I didn’t… definitely… if it was, I -’ 

 

Alex can feel the stupid grin pulling at her lips just as clearly as she can feel Astra’s heart racing against her own chest, and with Astra lying beneath her and promises and love hanging in the air, it’s easier than she ever imagined to say, ‘I’d say yes, you know’. 

 

Astra blinks rapidly, and when she finally seems to register what she’s said, there is a faint glimmering sheen to her eyes. ‘You… you would?’

 

‘I would’. 

 

‘You… you will?’

 

‘I will’. 

 

Astra sits up, jostling Alex into her lap, and kisses her slowly. She kisses her like they have all the time in the world, because they do, and Alex wraps her arms around her neck, wrapping her legs around her waist, her heart rate calming, and repeats, ‘I will’. 

 

Astra’s lips are warm and soft and insistent against her own, and her cheek is damp. Alex pulls back, staring at the woman she loves, at the tears dampening her cheeks, and leans in to kiss them away. ‘Why are you crying?’

 

Astra’s hands tighten in her jumper, and despite the tears on her cheeks, Alex can feel her smiling, can hear the happiness in her voice when she chokes, ‘I’m just… I’ve never been so happy, Alex’.

 

Alex smiles, leaning in to kiss her again, and murmurs, ‘you’ve made me very happy, too’.

 

Who would've thought Christmas would end with them engaged, as well as in love? 

 

Well, not Christmas. But a perfect day, nonetheless.

**Author's Note:**

> this might be the most pointless plotless fluffy thing i've ever read and i loved it so much
> 
> Merry Christmas Everyone!!! And Missy, I really hoped you like this and i managed to incorporate everything you wanted!!! We all love u and this is a lil thank u for all the stuff you've done for our fandom :')


End file.
